MONMOUTH, Ill. — Joel Brown, a member of the music faculty at Iowa Wesleyan College, will present a piano recital on Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kasch Performance Hall of the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.

Last spring, Brown taught classes in oral English at Wuyi University in China, where he was a visiting professor. He was engaged for recitals, master classes and lectures at seven Chinese universities, as well as performances and workshops for large piano teaching schools in several provinces and many more informal performances.

Brown’s recital will feature variations by Byrd, Bach and Copland as well as variations on a popular Chinese song, “Silver Clouds Chasing the Moon.” The second part of the program will include the Fantasie in C Major by Robert Schumann and Ravel’s Jeux d’eau.

A native of Rural Retreat, Va., Brown earned his bachelor’s degree in music from Lenoir-Rhyne College. At Indiana University, he received a master’s degree in piano and a Ph.D. in piano pedagogy and music literature, with minors in music theory and ethnomusicology.

Brown is known in southeast Iowa as a piano teacher and performer of exceptional ability. One of his students recently observed, “He hears more music in music than most people do and has a way of drawing that beautiful music from the instrument.” Robert McConnell, conductor of the Southeast Iowa Symphony, said, “Joel Brown is a true artist. He possesses a sensitivity of expression that few soloists ever achieve in their performances.”

Brown is the accompanist for the Mount Pleasant Chorale and has toured in Europe and the West Coast of the United States with the Iowa Wesleyan College Choir. He is a member of Music Teachers National Association and is the president of the Southeast Iowa Music Teachers Association.